Asolus

[Heim]

Post #0088: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
Aura's explanation strikes Arthur as out of place, specifically, the casual mention of other stops along the road.

"It it was the first inhabited location I had seen in days, and as a business it makes no sense. A street-side ramen stand in the middle of nowhere along a barely tread road is unlikely to get many customers, not to mention how it would resupply ingredients."

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0089: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
“I am definitely not an expert in restaurant operation, so I do not know about that aspect, but they answered our questions politely and did not drop any suspicious references to cult propaganda. There were other businesses along our route, but we were pushing to move as far as possible each day to catch up with the forward team.”

She retrieves several more candy bars from the box in the backseat and opens a bag of pork rinds.

[Heim]

Post #0090: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
"I mean... Well, what about the fact that all other businesses two days up the road were shut down or demolished?"

The lack of other establishments certainly accentuated the shops strange qualities, Arthur felt.

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0091: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
“That definitely does not sound familiar. Maybe we followed different routes getting here?”

She eats another couple candy bars in one or two bites, licking the melted chocolate off her blue fingers again.

[Heim]

Post #0092: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
Arthur considers the idea, once again scratching at his stubble. It was true that the journey wasn't a one way street, at least not completely. Maps of the areas roadways resemble a river delta, with each sleepy town being a one way destination. However, even among these Nowhere is uniquely isolated. All paths without a town at their end eventually converge into the singular, long, winding road to Nowhere. There is something to the argument that said maps have shown themselves to be pretty unreliable, but Arthur feels as though he's barking up the wrong tree.

It's no surprise to Aura that the people running the stand were oni.

That's ultimately what bothers him most. It points to what Pulse said about Arthur coming from a different world. He reflects that Aura is not likely to know what such things entail, but ultimately his desire to get another perspective on the matter wins out.

"(Sigh), honestly, it's not really about the ramen stand, but you're close when you ask about how it is that we both got here."

He hesitates before continuing, worried about being unable to express himself properly, but eventually plows ahead.

"This might sound unrelated, but did you and Pulse discuss what me being in your path mean, or maybe implies?"

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0093: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
“My discussions with Pulse are primarily about the mission.” She pauses and eats several handfuls of pork rinds. She scowls, but is generally facing forward, looking toward the storm beyond the windshield of the coupe, so Arthur gets the impression that she’s not scowling at him. “He and I do not line up…well, on much of anything. The mission makes working together effectively important, though, so I focus on that. You do not seem related to the mission at this point, even if the level of coincidences seems difficult to ignore.”

[Heim]

Post #0094: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
See? Nothing to add.

Arthur feels vexed. Now that he's gone and put them at the forefront of his mind, it will be difficult to ignore the troubling ideas bouncing around in his head.

"..."

He silently gazes at the storm. With so much potential danger on the horizon it seems pointless to chase something that has appeared to swiftly leap out of reach. If he's been transported to the oni's world, then is it even possible for him to find who he's looking for? The fact that he can't even be sure of where he is or how he might have gotten there begins to eat away at him.

I'm still on the road to Nowhere.

That fact hasn't changed, but the double entendre of putting it that way just worsens his growing frustration. Feeling at a loss, he decides to follow up on what Aura said and risk putting a toe across the line.

"Why don't we see just how many more coincidences there are? To start, who is your team looking for?"

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0095: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
“I see,” she says with a brief smile. “So tempting fate is a thing among humans, as well.” Aura pauses. She opens another package of pork rinds, eyes distant for a moment, before she turns and looks directly at Arthur. Outside, the sound of the hail begins to lessen, though it’s still coming down at a healthy rate.

“The target of our mission is the daughter of the heads of House Yoshide. The five of us had been a part of her security detail, but she disappeared under suspicious circumstances. That was over a week ago. Ever since, we have been tasked with finding and retrieving her.”

[Heim]

Post #0096: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
"Huh, I see."

Makes sense, it would be absolutely absurd if we were searching for the same person.

Though not quite connecting each bit of Aura's statement, Arthur plows ahead anyhow.

"That sounds like a person of high status, what leads you to believe she's so far off the beaten path?"

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0097: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
“Brass will be upset with me if I share our investigative methods,” Aura says bluntly. “Him-...I mean our target does not seem to have taken much advantage of her resources and status, though, beyond just traveling a long distance.”

Aura belches loudly, then lapses into a thoughtful silence.

“Whatever the case, we are certain she has come this way. The unknown factor is why…it has been a very frustrating few days for me.”

[Heim]

Post #0098: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
"So she left without indicating why."

Arthur switches his gaze to the rear-view mirror, surprised to find a frown on his face. He replays the memory of Aura diving into front of him before taking the brunt of a buckshot blast. The image of a privileged girl running off and causing trouble for those who care about her takes root in his imagination. Though, upon realizing this he tries his best to check himself.

You hardly know anything. Assuming something selfish could lead to hostility or misunderstanding.

Instead, he tries to pursue a potentially useful line of questioning.

"Are those that you answer to unhappy because it's taken longer than expected to find her?"

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0099: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
“Her family are unhappy, they are worried, they are impatient. She is the important daughter of an important family.” Aura sighs. “They will not be happy until she is returned.” She shrugs.

Outside, the hail continues. Aura looks restless again, but busies herself with a chocolate and caramel bar for the nearly ten seconds it takes her to eat it. After cleaning her fingers again, she reaches her right hand underneath her suit jacket. After some wrangling, she removes her short sword from wherever she was keeping it. She places it on her lap.

“What bothers me is that she did not tell me she was going somewhere.”

[Heim]

Post #0100: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
Given what Aura just said, combined with her pained expression from earlier, Arthur infers that the two are probably quite close.

See? You were being presumptuous.

In the same mental breath, Arthur realizes that he's been encouraging a personal line of conversation, rather than a practical one. Still staring into the mirror, he watches the ghost of his earlier frown be reborn as a small smile.

This is good. But I shouldn't overdo it.

Taking refuge in the details of Aura's life is all well and good, so long as there aren't any consequences. Realizing this, he suddenly becomes more conscious of his thought process, and a little guilty. Asking Aura's best guess as to why she left seems both insensitive and wasteful, so he searches for a more suitable question through which to continue the conversation.

"Do you have any idea of where to start searching for her once you arrive in Nowhere?"

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0101: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
“Brass and Ink are both experienced and skilled, and both have worked for House Yoshide much longer than I. They are sure to have made some progress in their investigation.” Aura takes a long breath and looks pretty tense. “At least I hope that will be the case. The major concern is that our target may have been abducted or coerced into leaving by parties unknown. House Yoshide is influential and has many enemies that might benefit from this situation.”

She shakes her head as if to clear it, a familiar, serious look replacing the appearance of tension. She then looks at Arthur.

“I am going to take a nap for a couple hours. We can discuss our plans afterward.”

[Heim]

Post #0102: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
"Understood. I think I'll do that as well."

Arthur's fatigue from the events of last night had yet to dissipate, the process having been delayed by both the day of driving and his conversation with Aura. Feeling glad that they've stopped for a break, he sinks back into the drivers seat as it reclines, forgetting the annoying squeak it makes when adjusted. Though, the prospect of a nap more than washes away his annoyance at the sound. In fact, it quickly washes away his consciousness, and he soon finds himself on the brink of slumber.

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0103: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
A hospital bed. Again.

The bright light this time is a single incandescent bulb hanging down above the bed, a vast blackness beyond the simple shade that aims the light toward the bed.

Barely able to see with the glare, Arthur struggles to sit upright, but can’t. He looks around; his hospital bed is in the middle of a vast room or clearing of some kind, with no walls in sight. The claustrophobic memories of hospital rooms give way to a feeling of being exposed. Very exposed.

He can just barely make out other hospital gurneys in the area around him, at the edges of the area illuminated by the light. Finally able to sit up, Arthur is suddenly tossed halfway out of the bed as it lurches to the right. He gets to his feet, now standing on the floor, but his legs feel strangely heavy and unresponsive. Each step feels like he is submerged in mud up to his knees. The hospital bed sinks silently into the floor beside him, the floor rippling slightly, like the surface of a large body of water. He worries for an instant that he will sink, too, and looks for something onto which he can hold.

Staggering, he makes his way to the nearest of the gurneys. He lurches forward, feet still dragging, but manages to grab onto the stainless steel handrail of the gurney. It drifts slightly but stays upright; not all of the wheel-locks have been engaged. He hauls himself up, straining with the effort; everything feels heavy and sluggish.

Leaning on the handrail, he’s now face-to-face with Aura as she lies there, half covered in white hospital sheets, her suit disheveled. The blue skin of her face is locked in a rictus of grief, eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. Arthur reaches for her hand, trying to wake her from her trance. She is warm to the touch, but the muscles of her arm are limp, as though weighed down.

Arthur looks around for help; maybe a nurse or doctor, anyone, is nearby. But all he can see is blackness, a faint outline of tree stumps along the shoreline.

Shoreline? His feet are suddenly wet, while his eyes are drawn upward; a bright, full moon shines down from where the bright light was a moment earlier. Fog drifts onto the surface of the lake on which he stands.

As if in slow-motion, the gurney on which Aura lies begins to sink. Arthur struggles to move her, lift her, anything, but he also moves only in slow-motion, the bright moonlight seeming to mock him as it reflects off of the black surface of the water beneath him.

She’s sinking much faster than he is. His mind races for a solution, as the moon sways back and forth from the ceiling. The black water swallows her feet and legs. He grabs her by the hand and resolves to never let go, to never leave her behind. The hushed voices of doctors and nurses flood his ears as the effort of holding Aura up drags him to his knees. He grunts and pulls, as though against an immovable object. He holds his breath and heaves one last time, but her hand slips slowly, slowly down….

Knocking.

Something is knocking against the window of the car.

It’s dark outside. Arthur looks about as his confusion clears. He’s lying in the driver’s seat of his coupe, alone.

[Heim]

Post #0104: The Trip (Arthur, Aura)
For a split second, he's fearful that Aura's absence means she's drowned in the moonlit waters of his dream, before realizing that it was, indeed, a dream.

A nightmare.

It's been quite a long time since he'd had one of such intensity. They'd been so common since his time at the hospital that he'd become desensitized. He sits in silence, bathing in the fast fading details.

Things started out much the same as usual, waking up to a bright light in a hospital bed. The appearance of Aura wasn't to form, but nor was it bizarre. Arthur reflects that his lack of social life probably explains why his dreams rarely contain people, and that Aura being the subject here is likely due to their conversation proceeding his nap. Her expression of grief can be explained through similar logic, but as he wades into the latter half of the nightmare his analysis is bogged down, or perhaps fogged up, by the sheer desperation with which he held onto Aura, how determined he was not to let her go.

The moments pass, Arthur immersed in the exhausted aftermath of his night terror. Gradually, the knocking on the window registers as louder and louder to his distant mind, and after rubbing his eyes and shaking his head, he instinctively steps outside.

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0105: The Trip (Arthur)
The beam of a flashlight pierces the dark of the night as Arthur looks around, blinking at the brightness.

“Good evening, sir,” a firm, female voice behind the beam says.

Arthur can make out blue flashes illuminating a police cruiser parked a short distance behind his coupe. As his vision clears, he sees a familiar-looking, busty woman with dark hair, dressed in the brown pants, belt and pistol holster, and overcoat indicating that she is a police officer, badge and everything.

“You feeling okay?” she asks, a frank smile parting her full lips.

[Heim]

Post #0106: The Trip (Arthur)
He feels faint. If he hadn't already gone over his nightmare so thoroughly, he could easily be led to believe that this situation was a continuation of it.

If I were her, what would I want to hear?

Of course, it wasn't that simple. There was the issue of what had transpired while he was asleep, the issue of where Aura had gone. If he was to make up a story or reveal information, he would have to be sure not to say anything discrepant. He also couldn't be sure of precisely what she wanted to hear, although he COULD be sure that she wanted some sort of revenge... Or did she?

It doesn't make sense.

Why would she dress up as a police officer, where did she get the badge, the cruiser? And wouldn't someone who'd been shot, even an oni, need more time to recover from a wound in their chest? Moreover, there was no trace of her earlier demeanor, and wouldn't she be threatening him with her weapon by now?

What the hell?

Standing just outside his car, not saying a word, Arthur concludes that this police officer and the store owner from last night must be different people, despite every similarity between them. Having reached this conclusion, his overloaded brain follows up with a question.

"What's a police officer doing this late on the road to Nowhere?"

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0107: The Trip (Arthur)
“She’s just glad she didn’t have to call in a body,” she says with a short laugh. “Spent a couple minutes thinking I’d have to bust up your window, do CPR. You just didn’t want to wake up, I guess.”

She circles back toward her vehicle.

“You all alone out here?”

[Heim]

Post #0108: The Trip (Arthur)
"I'm... No, I'm with someone. At least... I was. Did you-well, you asked so-"

She's not here.

Arthur puts a hand on his forehead and slumps back against the car door. Disoriented doesn't even begin to describe it, his mind tries to re-stabilize through the thick fog of confusion that's enveloped him.

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0109: The Trip (Arthur)
“Sir, are you feeling alright?” the officer asks. Arthur notices that she moves her hand away from where it had been, hovering near where her pistol is holstered. “Have you been drinking?”

[Heim]

Post #110: The Trip (Arthur)
The memory of last night flashes before him, briefly overlaying reality. He abandons his slump for a more alert posture, his eyes locking onto her holster. Heart rate creeping high, he reaches for the sky.

"No officer, I haven't been drinking. I just woke up from a nightmare, and was greeted by a police cruiser. The person who was with me also seems to be gone, so I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed."

He pauses, glancing over to where Aura's motorbike should be.

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0111: The Trip (Arthur)
There’s no sign of Aura’s motorcycle, or any trace indicating when she might have departed.

Spoiler: Arthur's Roll

Show

Perception test, target 7, result 9.

He finds no evidence of the hailstorm that was ongoing when he fell asleep, either. Peering into the backseat of his coupe, he sees no trace of candy bars or bags of chips, no crates of snacks. No shotgun. No shells.

“Easy now, sir, no reason to get alarmed.” She shows her gloved hands, both empty. “You’re not in trouble. I only stopped because this isn’t the safest place to park once the sun goes down. More of a sightseeing spot for the view than a rest-stop, if you will.”

She pauses and looks around. “Said someone was with you. Are you searching for them?”

[Heim]

Post #0112: The Trip (Arthur)
"..."

First, take care of the officer.

"No, I don't think so. I didn't expect them to drive off on their own, maybe they tried to wake me up like you did but I just continued to sleep through it. I've had an exhausting time the past couple days, so I hope you will forgive my catatonia and confusion."

He gives a small, deliberate sigh.

"At any rate, it's nothing to worry about. Is there something you need me to do? Perhaps It's not legal for me to park here overnight? Actually, do you know what the time is?"

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0113: The Trip (Arthur)
“Nothing illegal, just not particularly safe, either,” the officer says. She pulls up her left jacket sleeve and looks at her wristwatch. “As for the time…huh, that’s weird. Watch’s busted.”

The officer shakes her hand back-and-forth, then looks at her watch again.

“Well, it was quarter-to-eight when I left the squad car.”

The darkness of night has been accentuated by a gathering fog, Arthur notices, while the air is damp and chilly.

[Heim]

Post #0114: The Trip (Arthur)
"I see, well, do you have an estimate of how long it would take to get to Nowhere from here?"

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0115: The Trip (Arthur)
“The road to Nowhere, eh?” the officer says with a chuckle. “Well, normally it’s only a couple hours, but unfortunately tonight is a special night.”

The officer smiles, white teeth almost seeming to sparkle in the weird light cast by her flashlight beam shining through the gathering fog.

[Heim]

Post #0116: The Trip (Arthur)
A chill runs down Arthur spine, the cold air seems to close in around him.

"What do you mean by that?"

[Phelix-Mu]

Post #0117: The Trip (Arthur)
“Part of the road on the other side of the mountain washed out during a storm a couple days ago. The road is closed tonight…has been closed all day…so they can complete the repairs.”